Invitation to Cover: Aida Turturro,
Janice on The Sopranos TV Show, to Tour the Penn Rodebaugh
Diabetes Center on June 6

The Actress, Who Suffers From Type
2 Diabetes, Will Share Her Personal Story of Living With This Condition
With Penn Diabetes Patients

WHAT:

The media is invited to join The Sopranos
TV actress, Aida Turturro, as she tours the Penn Rodebaugh
Diabetes Center. After the tour, the media is also
welcome to attend a discussion between Turturro and several
Penn diabetes patients as they talk about the daily challenges
of living with diabetes. Turturro has Type 2 diabetes and will
share her personal story of struggle with the disease.

AIDA’S STORY:
Aida Turturro has appeared on stage and screen as many different
characters, but no doubt her most famous role to date is that of
Tony Soprano’s sister Janice on the award winning and critically
acclaimed HBO series, The Sopranos, for six seasons.

However, her many fans may not realize that she has struggled with
diabetes for a number of years. She is now sharing her personal
story to encourage those with or at-risk for diabetes to get in
control of the condition to avoid life-threatening complications.
She wants to stress the importance of managing the condition on
a daily basis. Her appearance is part of a diabetes awareness campaign
funded by sanofi-aventis.

PENN’S DEDICATION TO DIABETES CARE:
The Penn Rodebaugh Diabetes Center at the Hospital of the
University of Pennsylvania is dedicated to the treatment
and prevention of diabetes and advancing clinical research. Unique
to the Philadelphia region, we provide comprehensive care exclusively
for patients with diabetes, pre-diabetes and other endocrine problems.
As part of a world-class academic medical center, we offer a multidisciplinary
team of diabetes specialists and endocrinologists using advanced
clinical therapies and the latest research.

Also, we offer a family-oriented approach to patient care by providing
a variety of services to help our patients and their families manage
the disease and develop a healthy, normal lifestyle. Family and
friends are invited to: attend office visits to learn about our
educational programs; learn techniques for daily management of the
disease; and use our interactive computers and video equipment available
in our waiting areas during office visits.

Under our guidance, patients manage the disease through: eating
a healthy diet; taking medicine as prescribed; self-monitoring blood
glucose; exercising; taking care of the skin and feet; and becoming
an active member with the health care team.

Editor's Notes: Aida Turturro will be available
for one-on-one media interviews for 30 minutes before the tour in
the Gates conference room on 4 Penn Tower.

Diabetes is a chronic disease affecting more than six percent of
the U.S. population or 18.2 million people. Diabetes is linked to
heart and kidney disease, strokes and other serious health problems.
Diabetes results when the body either does not produce insulin or
cannot use it properly. Insulin is a hormone that your body needs
to convert sugar, starches, and other food into energy for living.
Although there is no cure for diabetes, it can be controlled.

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PENN Medicine is a $2.9 billion enterprise
dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical
research, and high-quality patient care. PENN Medicine consists
of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (founded in
1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of
Pennsylvania Health System.

Penn's School of Medicine is ranked #2 in the nation for receipt
of NIH research funds; and ranked #3 in the nation in U.S.News &
World Report's most recent ranking of top research-oriented medical
schools. Supporting 1,400 fulltime faculty and 700 students, the
School of Medicine is recognized worldwide for its superior education
and training of the next generation of physician-scientists and
leaders of academic medicine.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System includes three
hospitals [Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, which is
consistently ranked one of the nation's few "Honor Roll"
hospitals by U.S.News & World Report; Pennsylvania Hospital,
the nation's first hospital; and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center];
a faculty practice plan; a primary-care provider network; two multispecialty
satellite facilities; and home care and hospice.